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Jean-Sebastien Giguere
| birth_place = Montreal, QC, CAN | career_start = 1997 }} Jean-Sébastien Giguère (born on May 16, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jean-Sebastien played major junior with the Verdun Collège Français and Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he was drafted thirteenth overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played in the Calgary Flames organization for three seasons before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2000. Jean-Sebastian won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 before winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. Jean-Sebastien became the last member of the Hartford Whalers still active in the NHL as of the end of the 2012-13 season. Playing Career Early Playing Career Jean-Sebastien was drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) by the Hartford Whalers thirteenth overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft with a pick acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Pat Verbeek. After a four-year major junior career that included QMJHL Second Team All-Star honours in 1997, Jean-Sebastien made his NHL debut with the Whalers, playing in eight games at the end of the 1996–97 season. The following off-season, on August 25, 1997, Jean-Sebastien was traded to the Calgary Flames with centre Andrew Cassels for forward Gary Roberts and goaltender Trevor Kidd. Jean-Sebastien played the entirety of the 1997–98 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Calgary's minor league affiliate, the Saint John Flames. He recorded a 2.46 goals against average (GAA) and a .926 save percentage in 31 games in his professional rookie season with Saint John. Jean-Sebastien spent four seasons in the Flames organization, making brief 15- and 7-game appearances with Calgary in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, respectively, while spending most of his time in the AHL. Anaheim Ducks (2000-10) On June 10, 2000, Jean-Sebastien was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for a second-round pick in 2000 (later traded to the Washington Capitals; the Capitals selected Matt Pettinger). Jean-Sebastien began the 2000-01 season with the Mighty Ducks' farm team, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks until he was recalled from the AHL. He eventually took over Dominic Roussel's backup position to starter Guy Hebert. Due to only brief stints in the NHL during his tenures with Hartford and Calgary, the 2000–01 season qualified as Jean-Sebastien's rookie NHL season. He played in 34 games, posting a 2.57 GAA and .911 save percentage. In the off-season, Jean-Sebastien was re-signed by the Mighty Ducks on August 17, 2001. He continued to improve in 2001–02, his first full season with the Ducks, recording a 2.13 GAA and .920 save percentage in 53 games. In the 2002–03 season, Jean-Sebastien posted his first winning season, with a 34-22-6 record, as well as a career-high eight shutouts. Jean-Sebastien's first winning season in the NHL helped the Mighty Ducks enter the 2003 playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. From that point, he delivered one of the greatest playoff performances in NHL history as he helped lead the team on a Cinderella run to their first Stanley Cup Finals. Facing the defending Stanley Cup champions and second-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the opening round, Jean-Sebastien set an NHL record for most saves by a goaltender in their playoff debut with 63 in the Mighty Ducks' 2–1 triple overtime win in game one (surpassing Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jiří Crha's mark by two saves). This record would later be broken by Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, who stopped 72 shots in his playoff debut versus the Dallas Stars in 2007. The Ducks would proceed to shock the hockey world by sweeping the Red Wings in four games with Jean-Sebastien labeled as the star of the series. The Mighty Ducks then faced the Dallas Stars. Jean-Sebastien stopped 60 of 63 Dallas shots in the series opener, a five-overtime Anaheim win. He recorded his first shutout of the playoffs in game four, stopping 28 shots. The Mighty Ducks eventually eliminated the Stars in six games, and moved on to the Western Conference Finals to face the Minnesota Wild. Jean-Sebastien held the Wild to an all-time best-of-seven series low of one goal in the entire series, which included a franchise record shutout streak of 217 minutes and 54 seconds (later surpassed by Ilya Bryzgalov in 2006). However, the Mighty Ducks' dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup were stopped by the New Jersey Devils to whom Anaheim lost in a seven-game series. Jean-Sebastien finished the playoffs undefeated in seven overtime games, setting a record for the longest playoff overtime shutout streak at 168 minutes and 27 seconds. He finished with a 15-6 record overall, a 1.62 GAA and .945 save percentage, as well as fewer losses than Finals counterpart Martin Brodeur. Jean-Sebastien was the fifth player to receive the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP as part of the losing team and the first since Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall won in 1987. Along with the Conn Smythe, he received the 2003 ESPY award for best hockey player. The only other goalie ever to do so is Dominik Hasek. Jean-Sebastien's playoff MVP performance was rewarded in the off-season with a four-year contract extension, signed on September 10, 2003. However, his performance was inconsistent throughout much of the 2003-04 season as the Mighty Ducks missed the playoffs. Jean-Sebastien posted a 17-31-6 record and his GAA increased to 2.62. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Jean-Sebastien went overseas to play for the Hamburg Freezers in Germany. He returned to an improved Mighty Ducks squad as NHL play resumed in 2005–06. Anaheim returned to the playoffs and made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers. Jean-Sebastien, however, appeared in just four games as Russian rookie backup Ilya Bryzgalov took over the starting position during the playoffs. He missed the first game of the opening round against the Calgary Flames due to injury, but returned for games two through five. During game five, Jean-Sebastien was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots. Bryzgalov took over and subsequently reeled off three consecutive shutouts spanning the first and second rounds against Calgary and the Colorado Avalanche, tying an NHL playoff record and breaking his 2003 club record of consecutive playoff shutout minutes. Entering the final season of his contract in 2006–07, Jean-Sebastien earned his starting role back. In the first month of the season, October of 2006, he did not lose a single game in regulation. He proceeded to put up a career-high 36 wins in 56 games. Prior to the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Jean-Sebastien and his wife welcomed a newborn son named Maxime-Oliver. Giguère missed the Ducks' last three regular season games as well as the first three games of their opening round matchup with the Minnesota Wild, with Bryzgalov taking over in his absence. He returned late in the series and was the Ducks' starter the rest of the way. During the second round against the Vancouver Canucks, Jean-Sebastien's eight-game overtime winning streak in the playoffs was snapped on April 27, 2007, in a 2–1 defeat in game two. Nevertheless, he and the Ducks went on to eliminate the Canucks en route to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, where they won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in a 6-2 game five win against the Ottawa Senators on June 6, 2007. On June 21, 2007, the Ducks announced that they had re-signed Jean-Sebastien to a multi-year contract. He posted a 35-17-6 record with a career-best 2.12 GAA in the 2007–08 season. Despite his numbers, the defending champion Ducks were defeated in the first round of the 2008 playoffs by the Dallas Stars in six games. Jean-Sebastien recorded sub-par numbers during the 2008–09 season, going 19-18-6 with a 3.10 goals against average, sharing an increased amount of playing time to his backup Jonas Hiller. This did not deter him from being voted into the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in his hometown of Montreal. As Hiller outplayed Jean-Sebastien throughout the season, however, he was chosen over Giguere to start during the 2009 playoffs. Jean-Sebastien's only appearance for the Ducks in the playoffs was in relief of Hiller in the third period of game four of the Ducks' second round series with the Detroit Red Wings, to whom the Ducks would eventually fall in seven games. Jean-Sebastien suffered a groin strain early in the 2009–10 season on October 24, 2009. With Hiller's continued emergence as a bona-fide starter, Jean-Sebastien publicly told L.A. Daily News on November 10 that he "would rather retire than be a backup goalie" fuelling a goaltending controversy on the team. Losing his starting position to Hiller, Jean-Sebastien did not record his first win of the season until November 23 in a 3–2 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames. Toronto Maple Leafs (2010–11) On January 31, 2010, Jean-Sebastien was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake. Three days later, he played his first game for the Maple Leafs and recorded a 30-save shutout against the New Jersey Devils. On February 6, 2010, Jean-Sebastien registered another shutout in his next game against the Ottawa Senators on February 6, 2010, to become the first goalie in franchise history to record shutouts in his first two games. This accomplishment led Jean-Sebastien to be named the NHL's second star of the week on February 8, 2010. After having recorded a 3.14 GAA and .900 save percentage in 20 games with the Ducks before being traded, he improved to a 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage in 15 games with the Leafs. The following season, Jean-Sebastien suffered a groin injury in mid-November of 2010, sidelining him for three weeks. Upon his return, he played in several games before re-injuring his groin. During that time, the Leafs were in need of a goalie, forcing them to call up goalie James Reimer from the AHL. Reimer took over the starting position in Jean-Sebastien's absence. Colorado Avalanche (2011–present) On July 1, 2011, free agent Jean-Sebastien signed a two-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche for a total of US$2.5 million. He embraced his role in the Colorado locker room as the veteran mentor, especially for the young starting netminder Semyon Varlamov. Jean-Sebastien's leadership was key in a four-game home stand in mid December when Varlamov was sidelined for a back ailment. He started all four games and won them all, securing the Avalanche a team record eight straight wins at home. It was the most consecutive home wins the franchise had seen since the Quebec Nordiques won ten straight in 1995, before the club moved to Denver later that year. Jean-Sebastien was named one of the three NHL stars of the week for late December. On February 15, 2012, a groin pull during a losing effort to the Vancouver Canucks sidelined Jean-Sebastien, allowing Varlamov the opportunity to redeem himself and reclaim the starting position in net for the remainder of the race to the playoffs which Colorado ultimately did not qualify for. On August 13, 2012, Jean-Sebastien signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract extension through the 2013-14 NHL season. Career Statistics Regular Season and Playoffs Awards & Achievements Career Transactions *July 8, 1995: Drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the 1st round, 13th overall. *June 25, 1997: Rights transferred to the Carolina Hurricanes when the Hartford Whalers relocated. *August 27, 1997: Traded to the Calgary Flames with Andrew Cassels for Gary Roberts and Trevor Kidd. *June 10, 2000: Traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for a 2nd round pick in 2000 (Matt Pettinger). *June 21, 2007: Signed a 4 year $24 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. *January 31, 2010: Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake. *July 1, 2011: As a free agent, signed a two-year, US$2.5 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche. *August 13, 2012: Signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. Personal Life Jean-Sebastien was born in Montreal, Quebec, but he grew up in Blainville, Quebec. On December 15, 2008, his father died of cancer, greatly affecting his performance for the rest of the season. During that year, Jean-Sebastien went into the All-Star game with a very weak record, with only one win in his last nine games. In late February of 2013, Jean-Sebastien's mother passed away. Jean-Sebastien suffers from a rare gastric condition that causes his body to take in too much air when he drinks fluids. As a result, his body has difficulty absorbing water which leads to severe dehydration when he sweats. This became the case when Jean-Sebastien was in the AHL during the 1997-98 season. During one game, he lost 19 pounds, became sick and was rushed to the hospital. The team doctors in Calgary then discovered the condition. Category:Colorado Avalanche players Category:Hartford Whalers players Category:Calgary Flames players Category:Anaheim Ducks players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:Goaltenders